ComiXology Unlimited: Starter Pack At New York Comic Con

On Saturday, Day 3 at NYCC, I was able to sit through another Comixology panel. I love coming to their panels ever year—they always seem to give good recommendations on what to read if you want to start reading comic books, or what to read after you are done reading something you like. I tend to leave the room with a list of new materials that all of the sudden I need in my life. This year did not disappoint. I do not believe there were many titles I had not heard about before, but overall it was a fun panel.

The panel was lead by Comixlogy’s Ivan Salazar (PR and Events). And joining him on stage we had Tia Vasiliou (Digital Editor, Comixology Podcast), Matt Kolowski (Community Support Manager), and Jose Sagastume (Social Media, Community Support). After a brief introduction they quickly moved to explain what Comixology Unlimited is: a new subscription service by Comixology that will offer the first few issues of an extensive collection of titles to introduce readers to new materials (comic books/graphic novels/manga) to read. The service is free for the first 30 days and after that it is $5.99 per month. It has a whole range of titles from many publisher, but mostly independent works.

We first glossed over their personal picks for us: Kolowski quickly suggested Dark Horse’sFear Agent about a Texan, alcohol-busing, alien exterminator in space. He explained the storyline deals with redemption, time-travel, and booze. Vasiliou joined in with Image Comics’The Wicked and the Divine hinting to us the adventures of 12 gods reincarnated as Pop Stars. Sagastume then suggested Boom! Studios’ Power Rangers, which he stated all fans of the 90’s show should be reading. Salazar’s pick was Image Comics’ Stray Bullets, which would be great for lovers of Pulp Fiction.

They stated readers can find lists of recommendations on the site by theme, genre, staff picks. Also, they can be contacted via social media or email for suggestions. Kolowski also suggested Mark Waid’s Irredemable, which deals with a superhero who has turn evil. Vasiliou brought up Valiant Comics’Faith.

For fans of the show Stranger Things our panelists recommended Image Comic’s Black Science and Alex+Ada, and Oni Press’The Bunker. For people interested in Horror and books like Locke and Key, some of the suggestions were: Archie Horror’sThe Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Afterlife With Arcjie, Dark Horse’s The Strain, Image Comics’ Severed, and Kodansha ComicsParasyte.

For people into Fantasy/Sci-Fi they suggested Hex Comix’s Hex 11, Dynamite’sRed Sonja, and Oni Press’ Letter 44. For fans of Non-Fiction they brought up Family Tree, Top Shelf Productions’ March, and Dark Horse’s Rebels.

For fans of the Manga genre their recommendations were: Kodansha Comics’ Attack on Titan and Parasyte, Viz’s Death Note, and Dark Horse’s Neon Genesis Evangelion and Usagi Yojimbo. They moved on to stories they have read lately that surprised them and were quite unexpected. Sagastume mentioned Valiant Comic’s X-O Manowar. Kolowski’s pick was Conan: The Frost Giant’sDaughter and Other Stories. Vasiliou’s was Image Comic’s Chew, and Salazar was partial to a French publication The Incal by Jodorowsky and Moebius. They also recommended recent titles they picked: Skybound’s Outcast and Dark Horse’s The Goon. As a starter pack, though, they suggested Image Comics’ Saga, the new Archie, and Shadowline Comics’ Rat Queens.

Other titles they mentioned for us were: Image Comics’ I Hate Fairyland and Skullkickers, Dark Horse’s Elf Quest, Amethyst, and Boom! Studios’ The Spire.

Sadly, I did not get the chance to capture the moment with a picture, but in between the discussion I got to quickly sketch two of the panelists, enjoy:

Ale Bodden is a freelance artist and contributing writer for Bleeding Cool and Old Man Geek. You can find her on Twitter @nerdy_faery and IG @nerdyfaery.